


On sky and earth

by Ostodvandi



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fluff, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23451568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ostodvandi/pseuds/Ostodvandi
Summary: Marianne and Claude meet after five years of war, and some things have changed. Surprisingly, for the better.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	On sky and earth

**Author's Note:**

> Boy is it difficult to write Claude no matter how much I love him. He's too smart and I'm too dumb. Anyway have some pure mariclaude fluff.

When she sees him again, he's on top of a wyvern, crossing the skies like one of his own arrows, raining mayhem on the bandits they have to seize. Even in the darkness, something about him glows, or perhaps it’s the reflection of the moon on the scales of his mount. He’s majestic even as he lands on the terrain close to Marianne’s, giving her a severe look.

‘Travant’s wounded,’ Claude says, pressing a hand against his arm. ‘Can you…?’

‘Yes,’ she answers immediately, walking closer to the wyvern, and examines him carefully. A burn on the poor thing’s side, probably fire magic that they had nearly avoided, but nothing too serious. She places her palms over the burn, and faith magic flows through her fingers, slowly healing the wound. In the meantime, she hears Claude groan and look around, restless at the sounds of battle around them. ‘Are you well? Your arm...’

‘It’s... a scratch. One of the enemies, their arrow did this while I was coming here.’ He’s frowning, but his expression turns into a weak side smile. ‘Nothing a vulnerary can’t fix, so don’t worry about it. How’s my boy doing?’ 

‘He will be fine, thank the Goddess,’ she assures him, stroking the wyvern’s scales to soothe him. Faith magic could be annoying or even painful while in action, but at least the animal would soon be on his feet again. ‘I’m sorry I fell a little behind…’

‘That’s alright, Marianne. In fact,’ he speaks, as he gets a vulnerary out of his supplies, ‘it was very convenient. If it weren’t for you being here this poor guy would’ve had to fly all the way to the middle of the battlefield with that burn.’

‘I’m glad I can be useful,’ she murmurs, although she doubts he can hear her, focused as he is on the sound of metal clashing and the screams of the enemies that have fallen. Claude pours the vulnerary over his wound, hissing when it starts to heal, and the wyvern huffs, just as a droplet of sweat falls down Marianne’s temple and the wound vanishes. ‘There you go, little one.’

Claude pats his wyvern’s neck, and Travant gives him a reassuring groan that seems to soothe his worries. ‘Thank you, Marianne. You’re a lifesaver, as always.’

She smiles, flattered, and her heart skips a beat as she watches the wyvern rise back into the sky. ‘P-Please be careful!’

‘Will do!’ she hears before the moon glistens on Travant’s scales and they disappear again, heading to the center of the battlefield. 

Marianne takes a deep breath and runs after the shadow of the wyvern, directly into the midst of the fight.

* * *

Many things have changed over the course of five years, which is to be expected. But Claude is still surprised at how the essence of everything remains: Ignatz is still an aspiring artist despite his new maturity, Lorenz still praises the noble ideals even if his vision of other things seems to have changed, and Hilda seems mildly dedicated to a cause for once, among other things. The cathedral, even if destroyed and cracked, still feels like the holy place it was built to be, especially when the sunlight of the early morning cascades down what used to be a cupola and the people gather under it. If Claude believed in the Goddess, he’d probably think that light is Sothis herself shining over them, supporting their cause against the Adrestian Empire.

As usual, Marianne is there, alone under the almost holy light, hands linked together over her chest and head tilted forward in deep reflection. Just like with everyone else, he’s been appraising her, seeking what changes have happened within her in these five years: her hair is out of her face for the most part, her eyebags are either gone or concealed, and she carries herself in a brand new way, with a straightened back and attentive brown eyes and a mouth that smiles more often.

Claude knew that, like everyone else, he wanted Marianne to be happy, but it’s odd how constricted his chest feels when he looks at her. Pride? Some sort of nostalgia from their school days? He can’t quite pinpoint what it is, but he knows he has felt it before when she’s around.

In any case, he walks closer to her, careful to not interrupt her prayers to the Goddess with his steps. He isn’t successful, apparently, because she opens her eyes and her hands drop to her sides, and a long sigh comes out of her lungs. 

‘Ah, sorry,’ Claude quickly says, ‘did I interrupt?’

‘Oh, not really,’ she shoots him a sweet smile and links her hands over the dress. ‘I was just done with this morning’s prayers.’ 

Claude hums, tilting his head to one side. ‘May I ask what you were praying for?’

‘Nothing special,’ she shakes her head, looking up at the cracked ceiling. ‘I pray for our safety, and for a swift ending to this war so as many people as possible can survive.’

Claude nods, looking up with her. The sky is a bright blue this morning, with little to no clouds to block the sunlight. A good omen for Marianne’s prayers, perhaps. ‘I wish for the same. I promise I’ll make this war as quick and painless as I can.’

Her smile turns sadder, and she looks at Claude this time. ‘I appreciate it… That you’re not fond of violence, I mean. I’m not naive enough to think we can end this war with no casualties, because that’s just how war is, but…’ 

‘As long as we survive, we’re winning,’ Claude murmurs, completing Marianne’s sentence after some seconds of silence. ‘Right?’

Marianne nods resolutely, and that expression looks good on her. Confidence, in general, is a great look on her, and Claude’s heart does a little pirouette at the way her eyes narrow when her cheeks rise with her smile. ‘I suppose it’s our job…’

‘I’m the commander of this army, and you’re one of the healers. That’s what you mean, right?’ Marianne nods again, and Claude sighs. ‘We both have the capacity to save lives in different ways…’

‘Ah, speaking of that…’ she perks up and looks at Claude with a curious light on her eyes. ‘I was considering… something.’ 

‘Oh?’ Claude turns to her, giving her his full attention. ‘What is it?’

‘When… I helped Travant, and saw you flying through the sky… Well…’ Her cheeks light up in a soft red blush, and she looks down. ‘It… inspired me, I think…’

‘Inspired?’ Claude’s eyes widen in surprise, and Marianne finally looks up again to meet his eyes. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I thought… That perhaps it would be easier to find those that need healing from the sky.’ She breathes in, and Claude waits patiently for her to continue. ‘I talked about it with the professor, and they said there are some options for me…’

Claude smirks, putting a hand on his hip. ‘I see. Well, I’m sure you’d master the art of flying pretty fast.’ He laughs when Marianne gives him an inquiring look. ‘I have never seen someone the pegasi adore more than you, Marianne.’ 

She laughs, covering her mouth with her hand. ‘I do adore them too… They’re so sweet…’

Claude huffs, shaking his head. ‘They’ve never liked me much, even when I was younger. Not that I saw many pegasi back home…’ The wyverns are just miles more practical in the arid Almyra, while the pegasi were better equipped for places like Faerghus. ‘Anyway,’ he continued, shaking his head, ‘that means you’re going to become a dark flier, doesn’t it?’

‘That’s what the professor suggested, yes… They said I had plenty of potential for it, but I don’t know… I don’t want to be a bother.’

‘Do you want my opinion, Marianne?’ She nods, and Claude takes a moment to think about the best words to express what’s in his mind. ‘You are the best dark flier candidate I can think of in this army, probably on par with Constance. But she’s better at reason magic, and we could use some faith too.’ He winks at her and continues talking. ‘And she can help you out with learning some flying, and how to use magic midair. She’s a bit odd, but I don’t think she wouldn’t help.’

‘You’re right… I should ask her for her guidance.’

‘This army is soon going to be full of flying soldiers, huh… Well.’ Claude puts his hands behind his neck. ‘I feel more comfortable like that. It reminds me of home in a way.’

‘Home…’ Her voice sounds nostalgic and rather sad. Claude frowned. ‘Sorry, I was just… thinking about the past. And about my adoptive father.’

Claude doesn’t need to ask to guess that the Edmund household doesn’t feel quite like a home for her, but doesn’t want to throw salt on the wound any further either, even if he’s terribly curious. ‘Ah, Marianne. I’ve heard the knights have brought new pegasi to the stable this morning. Have you seen them?’

‘No, not yet.’

‘Then let’s not waste any more time. You gotta meet your new companion as soon as possible.’

The sun shines brighter on her when she smiles, genuinely enthusiastic. ‘Oh, of course.’


End file.
